A Grieving Mom Writes to Santa

Guest Author - Susan Hubenthal

Dear Santa,

I want to thank you for all the wonderful gifts you left under the Christmas tree, when I was a little girl. You brought me such wondrous presents! I remember the "Sparkle Plenty" doll, the paper dolls, the bank shaped like a mailbox and "Puff," the white furry stuffed kitty. Those days were filled with innocence and wonder. Thank you, Santa!

Jolly Old St. Nick, here is my Christmas Gift List for 2005. I know you cannot fill all of my requests, but if you could please try to fill some of them, I will be forever grateful.

1. I know you cannot bring back my son, but could you please ask God to give him a hug for me?
2. Please, dear Santa, allow me just one moment of peace this Christmas, and maybe you could throw in a little joy?
3. There are thousands of parents world wide whose dear children have died from a drug related death. Please give them, one and all, a day to view the world through eyes not veiled in tears.
4. Give gifts of comfort to all parents whose lives have been shattered by the death of a child.
5. Please give a minute of calm and a moment of hope to those parents who are suffering the throes of their child's addiction to drugs.
6. Give the gift of enlightenment to our leaders who think the "war on Drugs" is saving our youth ... give them a picture of truth.
7. Give grieving parents, whose children have died from drugs, directions for finding GriefNet-Substances, a place of love and understanding.
8. Give society tolerance to parents whose children are addicts, and understanding to parents whose children are deceased.
9. Ask God to bless all my friends and relatives who have been by my side, with love, through all the years of my son's addiction and death.
10. Spread as much happiness you can, dear Santa, to all suffering people. The grief stricken, the homeless the addicted and the mentally ill.
11. Give the gift of Angels to all the GriefNet families who journey moment-by-moment, day-by-day, and year-by-year, on the lonely path without their loved ones. Send them love, peace, and the knowledge they are not alone.
12. Give us all a Christmas without violence, hate or fear. Fill all our hearts with the joy of the holiday season and peace in the New Year.